


Family At Last

by eviestevie



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen, Pls CRWBY just let this family hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:14:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28488909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eviestevie/pseuds/eviestevie
Summary: After many years of hiding away from her painful past, Winter finally comes home.
Relationships: Weiss Schnee & Whitley Schnee & Willow Schnee & Winter Schnee
Comments: 15
Kudos: 44





	Family At Last

**Author's Note:**

> Warning!!!!!! There is some mentions of the Schnee family’s past abuse so be careful if you’re sensitive to that 
> 
> Other than that please enjoy 😊

When Winter ordered the Ace Ops to stand their ground amongst Atlas’ military in order to help the already struggling battle, she was met with no protest. Something she was immensely grateful for, as she didn’t want any of them to know where she was going, especially since they would likely report her to the General.

She couldn’t take it anymore. Winter knew all along that what Ironwood was doing is wrong, his paranoia making every decision for him and yet she continued to follow him, but that ended now. The pressure he had put her under was powerful enough to turn coal into diamonds, so the young woman decided to be done with it and take charge of her life as well as her duty. Which, as of right now, her newfound duty consisted of protecting her family.

One that she wasn’t sure wanted to see her.

Winter stood in front of her childhood home, anxiety already flaring in her chest as her hand hovered in front of the door, ready to knock yet she didn’t budge. Her closed fist trembled as adrenaline and fear all mixed into one horrible feeling that infected her body, ceasing her limbs in place as her mind screamed at her to turn around, to not open that door, to never face that man again. Which was a ridiculous thought, Jacques had been arrested, he couldn’t do anything to her.

So why was she trembling like she was suddenly a child again?

Shaking away those thoughts, Winter straightened her shoulders and did her best to stand tall. Taking what was probably the deepest breath of her life, she lightly tapped her knuckles on the door and waited. A long pause dragged on, she almost assumed that no one had heard her. Which was perfect, that gave her the chance to change her mind and go back.

Go back where? To the Ace Ops? Ironwood? Neither were a good option, she couldn’t turn back now, and yet she couldn’t face what was in front of her either. Panic settled in her chest as time seemed to stop completely and she was trapped in front of the door, but before she could do anything, the door creaked open and a voice called out.

“Winter?”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

Surprisingly, when she arrived at the Manor, she wasn’t immediately attacked. Although, that was likely because Weiss was the first to greet her at the door. Her younger sister seemed grateful to see her, which always seemed to be the case when they would meet. Even now, with war on their doorstep, Weiss still smiled at Winter, pulling her in for a hug which she didn’t return but certainly didn’t pull away from. Whitely was there too, although he stood at the foot of the stairs rather awkwardly, unsure whether to greet Winter. She didn’t blame him for it, she can’t even remember the last time they truly spoke as siblings.

After being updated on the statuses of everyone in the house, Winter found herself wandering the halls aimlessly, she felt like a stranger in her own home as nothing appeared to be familiar or nostalgic in the slightest. Had she really been gone for so long? She remembered as soon as she was old enough, Winter left her home to attend Atlas Academy, where she trained to be a Huntress and maybe, just maybe, she would try and stop her father from hurting people and her family. In the beginning, that’s what she always wanted, that’s why she became a Huntress in the first place.

But... that day never came. Instead she turned to the military, followed Ironwood instead, leaving the people that really mattered behind in the clutches of that awful man who had turned their home into a cage. Guilt invaded her mind, plaguing her with regret. A feeling of failure weighed her down, making her steps sluggish and heavy. Eventually, Winter reached a point where it felt difficult to walk, so she stepped into the nearest room for privacy, not wanting to risk falling upon a pitying gaze from the other inhabitants of the house. Winter felt her eyes sting, she was crying. Realising that tears were falling down her face, she wiped them away furiously. She had no right to be upset, these were her mistakes, her choices that lead to this unhappiness. She had no one to blame but herself. Winter continued to rub at her face even when the tears stopped, feeling the skin under her eyes burn in pain. Though she didn’t care how much it hurt, she even thought she deserved it.

“Winter? What are you doing in here?”

The young woman jolted at the sound of another voice suddenly invading her thoughts. She turned around quickly only to see her mother, Willow Schnee.

“I-I...” Winter stuttered, she had nothing to say. Her eyes darted around the room, unable to look at her mother’s face. Only then did she realise that she was actually standing in Willow’s room. Another wave of panic hit her, she knew better than this, never go into someone else’s room without permission.

“What have I told you about sneaking around in places you don’t belong, girl?” She remembered Jacques screaming at her. All she did was walk into his study, she was just curious.

Quickly returning to the present, Winter realised she still stood in her mother’s room, uninvited and sneaking around. She reacted instinctively from what she remembered as a young girl, staring down at the floor and pressing her arms into her sides so she wouldn’t be grabbed by a cruel hand.

“I-I’m sorry! I’ll just...” She didn’t continue her sentence, knowing better than to talk out of place. She rushed to leave the room.

“Wait.” Willow called, Winter froze, once again her hand hovered over the door like it did when she was outside. Cautiously, she turned around to look at her mother.

“Your face.” Willow said.

“What?” Winter asked.

“Come here.”

Slowly, Winter approached her mother, standing completely still in front of her. When Willow reached up to touch her face, she flinched away, but her mother was patient and waited for Winter to realise that she wasn’t going to get hurt. Once she relaxed, Willow swiped her thumb across her face from the bridge of her nose across her left cheek. When she pulled away, Winter noticed that something had came off her face where Willow had rubbed it.

“You’re wearing makeup?” Willow questioned, looking up and letting out a small gasp as she now saw what the makeup was hiding. A scar. Well, it was hardly a scar as it was still an open wound from her fight with Cinder. Her tears must have smudged the makeup, revealing her disgraceful loss.

Winter felt ashamed, she looked down at the floor once again.

“Ironwood made you cover that up... didn’t he?” Willow asked.

A silence filled the room. Winter could only nod, admitting to Willow as well as herself the awful reality of Ironwood’s control.

“I didn’t have time to recover in hospital.” Winter explained.  
“I was needed in the field.”

Willow said nothing, her brows furrowed in worry, Winter couldn’t begin to imagine what was going on in her head right now.

“Sit down.” Willow said, pointing at the edge of her bed. Not wanting to argue, Winter obeyed. She fiddled nervously with her hands as Willow left the room. Was she coming back? What was she going to do? Thoughts ran rampant in her mind, panicked by the littlest things. It was just her mother, so why did she react like this?

She supposed it was just instinct by now, despite not being here, Jacques still had an effect on her and the house. The atmosphere still felt tense, as if he was still there, ready to blow up at any given moment. Jacques had left scars in this home, both mental and physical. Those traumas could still be felt within the house, the echos of his cruel voice and violent hands stained the Manor and all those that lived in it. Winter hated that she was still like this, she hated that this is what her father had turned her into, even after all these years, still a scared little girl. The military did nothing to make her feel in control, it only swapped her from a greedy businessman of a father to a paranoid dictator of a General.

Willow returned carrying a small white box; a medical kit. She placed the box down on the bed besides Winter. At first, the young woman thought she was just giving her the kit to help herself, but Willow instead grabbed a cloth and a bottle of antiseptic.

“Stay still.” Gently, Willow wiped away the left over makeup on her face, cleaning the wound carefully. Winter leaned slightly into the touch, finally calming her nerves. When was the last time she let someone take care of her like this? To finally release her grip and unwind from her militaristic lifestyle. The mindset of showing no emotion was hard to shake off, but here in Willow’s company, it felt manageable. Wiping away the makeup also revealed that Winter still had a black eye, though the bruise had faded slightly so it didn’t look as bad as before, much to her relief.

When Willow pulled away, Winter did her best not to look disappointed. She missed this, the gentle parental touch she had abandoned any hope of for the sake of her work, it made her heart ache with a longing for comfort. She stood and brushed off her outfit, trying to appear unaffected by the care Willow had put her under. While Willow put the medical kit away, Winter noticed a wine bottle on her nightstand, it made her heart sink to her gut. However, she also noticed a picture sitting next to it, curiosity struck so she walked over and picked it up.

It was them; Willow, Winter, Weiss and a newborn Whitely. He was wrapped up sleeping in Willow’s arms while Weiss sat on her lap and Winter stood leaning on the arm of the chair her mother was sat on, peering over her new sibling. They looked happy. Especially Willow with a bright smile on her face, it appeared she was laughing as the picture was taken. A warmth spread through Winter’s chest, finally, she felt a sense of familiarity looking at the picture, a memory that brought no tears, no pain and no fear. However, it did bring a feeling of longing, a wishful dream to go back to that day, to simply be a child again.

Winter put the picture down and turned to face Willow again, this time her back was turned as she was still packing away the medical kit.

“I’d patch it up for you but it’s probably better that you let the air get to it. Just try your best to not get it infected.”

“Try your best”. Winter can’t remember the last time she was given such a leisurely command. It was always “do your best”, not “try”, because that was never good enough. It had to be perfect, she had to be perfect, otherwise she wasn’t of use to anyone. With Willow it could be easy, she could relax under the gaze of her mother, she missed that.

Winter missed her. The real Willow, the one before the alcohol, the one before Jacques’ selfish truth of why he married her was revealed. She missed the Willow that trained to be a Huntress, that taught her about the Schnee’s hereditary glyphs that Winter and her siblings would one day learn to control. The mother that showed her love for her children and never spared a passing glance to a wine glass.

Was she still there? Was there even a fragment left of the mother Winter once knew? Maybe there was, just now, in the small passing moment of Willow caring for her daughters wound, there was the mother she once new. She was still there, fractured and shattered, but the pieces of the real Willow still remained.

So maybe they could be rebuilt.

“Winter, are you okay?” At this point, Willow had turned around and was facing Winter. She was worried about her daughter, who stood staring at her blankly. That one question was enough. Winter stepped forwards and hugged Willow, releasing a shaky exhale as tears broke free and this time she didn’t stop them. Instinctively, Willow put her arms around Winter, rubbing her back as she heard sobs into her shoulder. Willow was brought back to the past by this, reminded of the times Winter had a bad dream or fell and scraped her knee, she remembered how she would hold Winter tightly until the crying stopped and even then she didn’t let go until her daughter did. Winter was much taller now, so Willow had to reach up to run her fingers through her hair like she would when she was a child, nothing was said, just wordless comfort that was many years overdue.

Winter heard the sound of the door clicking open, then there was another pair of arms holding her. It was Weiss. Winter felt a surge of pride in her chest for her sister, even when she didn’t know the context of the situation, Weiss didn’t hesitate to try and help her sister and mother. She has really grown into a wonderful young woman. Opening her eyes, Winter also saw Whitely standing at the doorway, unsure whether or not he could join in. She smiled at him and opened up one of her arms to invite him to come inside the room, he returned the smile and rushed over to embrace his family, releasing a sigh of contentment.

After many years of regret and shame, Winter never thought she could have this, she didn’t think she deserved it. Yet here she was, being welcomed back with open arms and tearful eyes. Now, the family could finally heal, start over again and truly be happy.


End file.
